The invention relates to holders for cosmetic or hygienic items such as brushes, lipsticks, deodorant sticks, sun-tan sticks, lip balms, chap sticks, etc.
Holders for cosmetic or hygienic items typically comprise a base, a cosmetic or hygienic item movably mounted to the base, and a removable cap which engages the base or a structure mounted to the base to which the item is connected, and typically employ a mechanism which advances the item from the base by rotating part of the holder with respect to another part. It is difficult to apply the cap to the holder with the item exposed without contacting and possibly damaging the item because the sizes of the cap and the item are approximately the same. Therefore, the cosmetic or hygienic item is first retracted into the base to cover the item, and then the cap is applied, thereby protecting the item and facilitating applying the cap. The drawbacks of this type of holder are that it is difficult to operate smoothly and requires manual operations to both advance and retract the item. Also, due to the rotational motion required to advance and retract the item, the shape of such holders is limited to a cylindrical shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,044,612 to Levine and U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,339 to Sasaki both disclose holders having a base to which a lipstick (the Levine '612 Patent) or a brush (the Sasaki '339 Patent) is attached, a sleeve that slides into and out of the base to expose and cover the lipstick or brush, and a removable cap. The item is covered by the sleeve before the cap is applied. In the case of a lipstick, the covering sleeve prevents the cap from contacting the lipstick when the cap is applied. In the case of a brush, the covering sleeve reduces the spread of the brush and prevents the cap from being inserted into the bristle bundle, thereby facilitating applying the cap to the base over the brush.
In the Levine 612' Patent, the sleeve and the cap do not engage and the cap does not push the sleeve into the base when the cap is applied to the base. As a result, the sleeve remains covering the lipstick when cap is removed and must be manually pushed into the base before the lipstick may be used.
In the Sasaki '339 Patent, the covering sleeve does not telescope into the base and has two different diameters which are visible whether the brush is covered or exposed. The holder as a result appears to be longer than it otherwise need be and is not as streamlined and visually sleek in appearance as it might otherwise be. Moreover, the structure required to engage the covering sleeve with the cap and base has multiple contours which may increase manufacturing complexity and cost.